Arnold Böcklin’s Isle of the Dead — a painting that has inspired generations of artists and dreamers. This image echoes the soul of Echoes of Morantia: a journey into memory, transformation, and the mystery of being seen.
Work in progress: The island of Morantia, created in 3D Blender by Ragnar di Marzo
Echoes of Morantia is a 32-episode VR drama that blends the intimacy of live performance, the poetry of literary cinema, and the evolving language of immersive technology.
Here, the viewer does not sit at a distance. You stand inside the scene—among the characters, within the tension, where memory shifts and time becomes porous.
At its core, this project is not about technology. It is about presence.
About what happens when seasoned performers step into empty space—and something invisible begins to take shape.
Though the medium is new—360° stereoscopic film, AI-assisted dialogue, 3D dreamscapes—
the heartbeat is ancient: the actor.
Their breath.
Their gaze.
Their silences and sparks.
In the end, it is the actor who gives life to all of this.
Now, that heartbeat is complete.
Seven extraordinary actors have come together to form the ensemble that brings Echoes of Morantia to life. With them, the series begins its long unfolding—grounded in presence, carried by experience, and shaped by trust.
Not Science Fiction—but Something Stranger
The story follows a group of retirees who arrive on an island that seems to respond to their choices.
There is no single protagonist, no straightforward plot.
Instead, the series asks:
What remains when the roles we’ve played begin to dissolve?
What is revealed when we are truly seen?
Each character steps into this mystery from a different place—bringing with them the weight of a life already lived.
Meet the Ensemble
Each one brings a unique resonance to the strange and beautiful world of Morantia.
Here they are — listed in international alphabetical order, with their character’s name in the story:
– Åsa Älmeby Thorne – Embrace
Silent and unseen, she longs to be touched by presence.
– Cecilia Campbell – The Mystic
She senses what others cannot name.
– Erik Dahlin – The Artist
He finds rhythm in chaos and beauty in breakdown.
– Sandra Enegård Hall – The Historian
She tracks memory like a cartographer of time.
– Henrik Norman – The Bully
He resists vulnerability with humor and deflection.
– Sovi Rydén – The Actress
Retired but unquiet, she steps back into presence with all the force of her past roles.
– Jesper Widström – The Scientist
Ever-rational, he begins to glimpse cracks in logic’s armor.
And guiding the process:
– Ragnar di Marzo – Director
– Pirandello’s Echo – AI Scriptwriter
Together, we form the creative core of Echoes of Morantia—a project shaped by trust, experimentation, and shared curiosity.
A Stage of Light and Air
No crews. No sets. No costumes.
Just a quiet room, three iPhones, and an actor in full presence.
The space is small—six square meters—but charged with potential.
Each performance begins in stillness.
We film three times a year. Each time, the actors return not to continue the story, but to deepen it—one half-day at a time. One episode per session.
After each, we gather for a premiere—not private, but quietly shared. First with friends. Then with those who hear of it, and come. Over ten years, there will be thirty-two of these moments—each one a step further into the world of Morantia.
We don’t chase the audience. We wait for them to arrive.
And when they do, we welcome them inside the echo.
Around these filmed moments, a world is shaped.
In post-production, the performance becomes the center of a sculpted environment: light, space, architecture, memory. These are not realistic settings, but dreamlike compositions—built in Blender, rendered in 3D, and experienced through a VR headset.
The final result is not flat film, but a fully stereoscopic VR360 experience: immersive, layered, and inhabited from within. The viewer becomes part of the scene—not a ghost, but a quiet presence inside the story.
This is a long journey. A slow rhythm.
And a refusal to rush what wants to unfold.
Echoes of Morantia is fully independent and non-commercial.
There are no institutions behind it—only a circle of committed artists.
Echoes of Morantia is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
You are warmly welcome to share, adapt, or build upon this work. If you do, please include this credit:
Echoes of Morantia is created by the actor ensemble:
Åsa Älmeby Thorne, Cecilia Campbell, Erik Dahlin, Sandra Enegård Hall, Henrik Norman, Sovi Rydén, Jesper Widström—with Ragnar di Marzo (Director) and Pirandello’s Echo (AI Scriptwriter)
(CC BY 4.0)
With every line spoken and every step taken, this journey is carried by
Åsa, Cecilia, Erik, Sandra, Henrik, Sovi and Jesper
– Ragnar & Word Craft
Explore More:
👉 Read Episode 1 – Synopsis and Script
Step into the story’s beginning.
👉 Echoes of Morantia – Project Overview
Discover the vision, setting, and philosophical core.
👉 Creative Process – Behind the Scenes
How the series is filmed, designed, and brought to life.
👉 Vox-Ai Essays
Reflections from our AI Curator on story, form, and meaning.
👉 Connect With Me
Interested in acting or following the journey? Reach out.
All texts on this page were written by Ragnar di Marzo and edited in collaboration with Word Craft—an AI editor devoted to clarity, rhythm, and resonance across languages and forms.
Echoes of Morantia is a VR360 cinematic experience created by independent filmmaker Ragnar di Marzo. Blending AI collaboration, meta-theatre, and immersive storytelling, the series explores identity, memory, and transformation through a poetic and technologically daring lens.
Stay close to the echoes. Subscribe for behind-the-scenes glimpses and new episodes—each one a step deeper into the dream.
Tags: #VRCinema • #EchoesOfMorantia • #MetaTheatre • #AIStorytelling • #PirandelloInspired • #ImmersiveFilm • #BlenderCinema • #VirtualRealityFilm • #IndependentFilmmaking • #RagnarDiMarzo
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